Info. & Prob.

– probability two mutually exclusive events question sheet IP-MEE-01

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1. A cloth bag contains a mix of black, white and red balls.

Selecting one ball at random, the probability of getting a black ball is 0.2 , while the
probability of getting a white ball is 0.5 .

(a) Selecting one ball at random, what is the probability of getting a red ball ?
(b) If in total there are 5 white balls in the bag, how many black balls are there ?
(c) If there are in total 3 red balls in the bag, how many balls are there altogether ?
2. A paper bag contains 5 red sweets, 7 green and 8 blue.
If a sweet is selected at random from the bag, find the probability that the sweet is: (2 d.p.)

(a) red or blue (b) not green (c) green or red (d) not blue

3. A tall metal box contains beads of many different colours.

The probability of selecting a bead of a particular colour is as follows:
white 0.2 , black 0.4 , red 0.3

What is the probability that a bead taken from the box will be:
(a) black or red ? (b) not white or black (c) a different colour to red, black or white

4. A pack of cards consists of different numbers of white, black and red cards.
If the probability of choosing a white or red card is 0.6 and the probability of choosing
a white or black card is 0.7, what is the probability of choosing each of the coloured
cards individually ?

5. In a herd of 30 cattle there are 8 cows coloured black, 12 coloured white and 7 with no
horns.
Find the probability that: (2 d.p.)
(a) a cow is coloured white or black
(b) a cow has horns
(c) a cow is of a different colour to white or black

6. Scientists examining climate classify winters as mild, normal, hard or severe.

The probability that a winter will be mild or normal is 0.4 .
The probability that a winter will be severe is 0.1 .

(a) What is the probability of having a hard winter?

(b) If the probability that a winter is mild is three times the probability that it is normal,
what is the probability that a winter will be mild or severe?

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Info. & Prob. – probability two mutually exclusive events answer sheet IP-MEE-01

GCSE Maths Tutor www.gcsemathstutor.com info@gcsemathstutor.com

1. (a) 0.3 (b) 2 (c) 10

2. (a) 0.65 (b) 0.65 (c) 0.60 (d) 0.60

3. (a) 0.7 (b) 0.4 (c) 0.1

4. white 0.3, black 0.4, red 0.3

5. (a) 0.67 (b) 0.77 (c) 0.33

6. (a) 0.5 (b) 0.4

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